Jesus Wants to Help Vincentians – MARK 7:14-23 – God Always Wants to Work With Us –

Vincentians are the Salt

Vincentian Day of Prayer and Fast – Happy Valentine’s Day!

Jesus Wants to Help Vincentians

The kingdom of God surpasses all human limitations. He calls us and wants to work with us to serve those in need and help to end poverty. We treat those we serve with dignity and we must spend the time to listen to them.  When He called us it was to serve and see His face in all we serve.  He called us to tend to the lamb and feed His sheep.  When we see the face of Jesus in those we serve, we become better servants. Jesus wants us to break through barriers.   No prayer bounces off a brick wall forever. Find a new angle and keep hitting that wall with more prayers. And when you get tired, take a rest in the Father’s lap. You will reach the breakthrough you need. I guarantee it. I speak from experience. We cannot do our work without prayer and not just for one day but always when we serve Jesus in the poor. He must be present.  Talk to God often. He loves to chat with us.

MARK 7:14-23

Jesus explains that sinful behavior flows from within our hearts. How often the Bible speaks of the “heart.” By that it means the core of the self, the deepest center of who we are, that place from which our thoughts and actions arise. We need to know we are always in God’s heart and we must talk to Him often.  Our faith clearly teaches the awful truth of the fall, and we see the evidence of it in the mystery of sin. We cannot be blind to the truths.  We are all capable of dark and evil acts. I’m not OK with it and I don’t think you are either. We see the tangled web which is sin. It grows like a fungus or like a cancer. It grows when we don’t seek forgiveness. What we must stray from is the hardening of our Heart.  We must always let God in.  Don’t let there be resistance to God’s love and works in us.  We know we are sinners, so we must ask for forgiveness and put word to our sins to ask forgiveness.  We are made in the image and likeness of God, but that image can be so distorted by sin as to be barely recognizable.  Always let God into our thoughts.  Father Son and Holy Spirit are deeply in love with us.  Talk to them, open your heart and let them in.

God Always Wants to Work With Us

Sometimes we lose the taste and God is ready to remove the flavor.  He always wants to work with us.  He is our stability and is always there.   Non-believers learn that the love of Christ is real when they see us living in love with each other.  May all Your children, Lord, be aware of Your light in us. May we work together so that it may transform the darkness in our hearts. Amen.  We need to season the world with your faith in our service to the poor and to our Vincentian Family.  We need to show God’s life in silent loving service.  Sometimes those we serve see it in us, but we don’t want them to think they do not have God’s love and that is why we must see Jesus in them and let them see Jesus or God in us.  Say this prayer before or after a visit: May all Your children, Lord, be aware of Your light in us. May we work together so that it may transform the darkness in our hearts. Amen.

Vincentians are the Salt

God gives us this salt of the earth and God gives us the light of Christ to share with each other and to those we serve.  In being called to be salt of the earth, we are seasoning for each other. Without each other, our light dims, our flavor fades, and we become useless to God’s kingdom.  Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus tells us: “You are the salt of the earth.” What does it mean to be salt? Think about what salt does. It adds flavor to foods that lack sufficient taste.  Jesus also raises the point that if we lose our flavor, how can it be restored? The answer is: Only by letting God renew us. In our baptism, we were made flavorful — alive with God’s love, peace, joy, etc. Fruitful Christians are those who evangelize by adding the seasoning of God’s life. By showing God’s love, peace, & joy, given to the lives of the people around them. People are much more likely to turn to Jesus if they first experience His love from us, and His peace in how we treat them, and His joy in the way we live our lives. They need to discover that Jesus loves them just the way they are, that He is gentle but sincere when inviting them to grow spiritually, and that He can help them turn hardships and troubles into blessings and joys. This is our ultimate goal in lifting those we serve from poverty.  We work with them as we were called to do.  We are the servants of the poor and we give them hope with our love and our acceptance.

Blessings,

Lynn